What's New?

I haven't written here for some time. Not much has happened in the world over the past several months that spurred me to put on my non-believer's hat and my godless fingers to the keys to clap out anything. I can't say that much has changed in that regard, but I was recently struck by a thought - admittedly a silly one - but nevertheless this occured to me:

God, in his wisdom, gave what is now Israel to (surprise!) the Israelites. as their so called Promised Land. Jews to this day continue to fight to the death for that little sliver of land in the midst of the Arab/Muslim hoard.

What occured to me was what if the Israelites had seen or got wind of say what is now the south of France or Tahiti or any of hundreds of other more verdant places around the world, about the time god came along informing Moses' people after their 40 year wandering stint that the very area in which they had settled was IT! - this was their Promised Land?

Mightn't the Israelites have looked about them and then approached god with a question or two?

"Hey, god, ya got a minute? Uh, first, we all want to thank you for this, uh, land. I mean, it's really great. No doubt it'll make a great country for us and all. No trouble getting a tan here, right? And it's good that there aren't any pools of that sticky black gunk here like there are everywhere else around us. What a mess that stuff makes. It flat out trashes a pair of sandals."

"But, we were just wondering, and don't take this the wrong way, but, uh, is this the best you've got? I mean, we are your "chosen people," right? I mean, well, the scuttlebutt is that some of the folks have heard of places that are, um, how can I put this? - more, uh, heavenlike. That's it! That's the ticket! More like heaven! Or at least what we think heaven might be like, I mean not that any of us lowly, scum of the earth, totally unworthy sinners would actually know, but, well, I mean, we can imagine, we do imagine, you know what I mean? Oy, how stupid I am, of course you know what I mean, I mean you're god and, well you know... "

"Uh, anyhow what the guys and gals back at camp have been saying is that this land that you have so generously given us is maybe a bit on the arid side, don't you think? I mean, some of these places that we've heard tell about are said to be actually green! - all the time, or, uh, at least most of the time. They have some wet stuff every morning called - oh what was it, uh - "dew," yeah, something called dew. They say there's grass and trees, and bushes - not burning ones of course, ha, ha - but lots of different kinds of bushes; some with berries growing on them that they say a guy could eat. And there's rain! Buckets of rain! I hear tell that some places get rain almost every day. Boy, that'd be a hoot, wouldn't it? But, still. I mean it just seems that if you're bent on giving us - your chosen people - some place to call our own, that there might be some more, uh, more hospitable, more promising real estate than this. NOT THAT WE'RE COMPLAINING! No, no, we don't want you to think that we're complaining. I mean, as I said, this is really great. Really, really great.I'm sure we can all eventually be happy as clams here. Lots of room to build sacred temples and such. Plenty of sand. Lots and lots of sand. Tons of sand. And camels! Hey, those camels are the nuts! Kinda goofy looking in a certain light, but they can sure get a guy around the desert, don't you know? The kid's are always "cameling" around. Ha, ha."

"But, well, anyway, what do you say G? May I call you G, or L, or L of L? Could you maybe have a look at what else might be available out there, maybe some place where maybe there might be an occasional cool breeze and maybe some water to kinda balance out with the sand?"

"What? I'm sorry. What? You say maybe we should consider building a what? An ark? Ha, ha. What's an ark?"

TLS :)

Whoopie, It's Easter!

Happy Easter to one and all.

Obama. O'Yay!

California's Proposition 8

If you have an interest in gay rights and/or concerns regarding gay marriage click on this and read the article and comments over at Blog Critics Magazine.

Photo: Pineapple mint, anyone?

TLS

Ding, Dong. It's alive, it's alive!!!

Well, I just couldn't take it anymore. Three months ago, I decided to put Rupture to bed. While it has remained quiet, there have, nevertheless been a few people coming by checking things out. Rupture has, in the past few days, been beckoning - "Feed me, feed me!"

So. It's back! I've sent notice to the media. There should be preemptive break-ins over the coverage of Hurricane Ike and the presidential campaign any minute now on all the major networks: "FLASH! RUPTURE THE RAPTURE IS BACK! Film at 11."

What I intend to do is focus pretty much all postings on matters concerning religion/atheism here. I will also maintain Indy Boomer for pretty much all other postings. Boomer hasn't really taken off and perhaps won't, but being an eternal optimist, in time I'm confident that thousands - nay - hundreds of thousands of eager readers will eventually be treading on Indy Boomer's virtual doorstep clamboring for my wit and wisdom.

Note: I caught the above image of angels actually emerging from the walls of a Munich department store building. They proceeded to fly over the street and then alighted together at the entry to a Starbucks across the square. They then entered the store enmasse and all ordered Mango Passion Fruit Frappucinos. It was a truly "grande" sight.

Is God Really in the Details?

Just a question and a note here: How long has man seriously been involved in truly scientific inquiry? Surely, there were some discoveries made going back even thousands of years, but the results of many of those efforts have either been lost, or were thwarted, often by the powers that be.

Only since the Renaissance has there been a more or less uninterrupted and concerted effort to discover our origins along with other scientific inquiry. Given the totality of human history, those few hundred years are hardly a blip on the proverbial screen. Look at what has been accomplished just since, say the middle of the 19th century in science and technology. To believe that humans can NEVER reach a core of understanding about the universe, our origins, and our place within it, is at the least, selling ourselves short.

Much of what we know and can do today would have been thought the stuff of magic or fantasy just a couple hundred years ago. Thousands of people were burnt at the stake for just imagining such things. Humans have an enormous capacity to explore and understand. Most of us, myself included, have no idea about much of it. Scientific research has become so specialized, so concerned with seeming minutia that again, most of us can't relate to it. Ultimately, the trick will be to put it all together, to assimilate all of the discreet data into a cohesive and manageable understanding of it all. I won't predict that we WILL accomplish that, but I do believe we CAN.

While, I suppose it is possible that the ultimate answer to it all could be something that one could aptly call a god, at this juncture, however, that is no more likely than hundreds of other possibilities. Further, the possibility that the answer is an omnipotent, omniscient god consciously involved in the second to second lives of us humans is so remote to be considered ludicrous. It is a human conceit to believe that we are the one and only chosen beings of god.

As I have asked before: What possible interest could an all powerful, all knowing entity have in such insignificant beings such as ourselves? I always think of "Star Trek TNG" and the character "Q" played, I believe, by actor John Delancey, who had god like powers over the fate of all humanity. He was depicted as being contemptuous and bored by humanity, but then alternately intrigued and curious about us as well. In my opinion, the former view would hold sway more often than not.

Ding, Dong, The Witch is Dead!

Well, not really. I mean, she may be in fact dead, but that has no meaning for us here in blog world. I just wanted to let my thousands of relentless fans know that I have set up housekeeping at a new location: Indy Boomer It's not radically different than what I've done here except that I am fashioning it to have a broader appeal than just that boring, old religion/atheism crap.
It is just a beginning, and a humble one at that, but I hope to reach out and touch hundreds of thousands of you (actually, a couple of dozen would be a marked improvement) with my wit and wisdom, my great insight to the world's problems and whatever other drivel I might conjure.

Give me a visit. Pleeeeeeeze!!! Ya'll er welcome.

TLS

The End - I Mean It! Really! No Foolin' Around!

I am no longer posting here. I have not set up new digs as yet, but will, hopefully, in the near future. For anyone interested, check back here from time to time as I will provide a link whenever that happens.

I will keep this old barge afloat for the forseeable future as I want to save some of my posts for posterior, or uh, well, you know what I mean.

At some point though, I will pull the plug and presumably "Rupture" will disappear into the ether of cyberspace. For most, this will be no great loss, I'm sure.

In the mean time, feel free to browse, even comment should you have the urge. I'd love it. I think I put together a few good posts over the last couple of years, and at least in some instances, there arose a good bit of spirited discussion/argumentation. Hey, what better way to spend a glorious spring or summer day than sitting in a darkened room hunched over a computer keyboard reading from the rantings of some unknown godless fat guy from the midwest?

In some ways, I feel like I'm announcing a GOB (going out of business) sale for a cheap furniture store. Whatever.

Terry S.

(Photo - Ravensbruck)